


to preempt

by Romennim



Series: to cherish [3]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Protectiveness, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-09-18 20:47:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9402311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Romennim/pseuds/Romennim
Summary: The Flash was important to Central City, and so was the team supporting the superhero. But Len's first priority was to protect his soulmate's wellbeing, even from his friends if necessary.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "gun" for The Big Short Challenge on Rough Trade.
> 
> Betaed by the lovely ladychild.

Len knew he was a fucking good cop. He had good instincts, he had something that let victims empathize with him, he had that natural talent of making leaps in logic that sometimes was all that mattered to solve a crime. That said, he was not entirely good at his job. Like a lot of his colleagues, he was more concerned with justice than the law itself. Following the law, guaranteeing the due process was important – but never as important as justice itself.

That was why he never tried to change Barry’s mind about being a superhero. He was always fucking terrified that someday his soulmate would face a meta-human Barry couldn’t stop, that Len would feel him die, but he never stopped him. No average cop would be able to stop these kind of criminals, no jury would ever try them, and justice was what mattered.

So Len understood what drove Barry, why the Flash would never stop. But Barry wasn’t alone in this crusade. And Len didn’t trust Dr Wells. It wasn’t a matter of liking or respect, because the man was a genius and he hadn’t let the tragedy of the particle explosion stop him from trying to advance science and help people, but something in Len told him that he couldn’t trust the man. And his instincts were never wrong.

So he had no qualms to do whatever he had to do to help and protect his soulmate. Barry was still innocent, in many ways. He was young and trusting. Len hadn’t been for a long, long time, and he had no intention to stay out of it only because these people were helping Barry into being a superhero.

***

“Barry,” Wells began with his usual assertive voice. “Cisco has something to tell you. Isn’t that right, Cisco?”

 _Uh_. Whatever Cisco had done had to be bad because Len had never seen Cisco pale quite so much or Dr Wells be so icy. Len wondered if this was meant to be private, if his afternoon incursion in the Labs had been indeed bad timing, but then he guessed that Wells would have chosen another time if he had wanted to keep whatever this was private.

“What is it?” Barry asked, perplexed.

Cisco was wringing his hands now.

“You see, back when you woke up, Barry, and we discovered you had these amazing powers, well, we didn’t know each other very well, right?” Cisco began and suddenly Len knew where this was going. “And… and, please, don’t take this the wrong way, but we didn’t exactly trust each other and I… I-” Cisco trailed off, shaking his head. His eyes were huge and Len had the distinctive impression that the kid was about to cry.

Barry took a few steps forward. “What did you do, Cisco? Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s fine.”

Cisco shook his head violently.

“Oh I’m so sorry, Barry! I-I built something. And it was stolen, and now I fear that someone bad-”

“I have the gun.” Len interrupted Cisco. As much as Len despised the idea of the gun itself and the fact that Cisco, of all of them, had built it (and by the file Len had found, without any prompting from Wells), he didn’t want to prolong this agony. Barry had to know and drawing it out wouldn’t help anybody.

“You?” Cisco exclaimed.

“A gun?” Barry asked bewildered at the same time.

“You took something out of this facility?” Wells inquired, tone icy.

“Don’t look at me like I’m the one in the wrong here. You” Len said looking at Cisco, “were the one to build a weapon to neutralize and possibly hurt my soulmate. And yours” he went on looking at Wells “was the lab where it all happened with you none the wiser.” Len took a breath. “I didn’t take it because I’m a thief, but because the security in this place is abysmal and anyone could have grabbed it and done a lot of awful things with it. And you won’t get it back.” he finished. _Ever_ , he didn’t say but it was as clear as day.

Barry was the one to recover first.

“I can’t- _a gun_ to stop me?” he asked, voice full of hurt and betrayal.

Cisco looked at Barry then, face stricken.

“I’m sorry, man, but we didn’t know you, and every meta-human we had encountered was a bad guy and-”

“But I helped you since the beginning! And Bette wasn’t a bad person!” Barry almost shouted. “Having powers doesn’t make you a bad person, what you do with them does! And I-” Barry shook his head. “I can’t deal with this right now, sorry.”

With a swish of air, Barry was out of the lab. Len sighed.

“Well, that didn’t go well.”

Wells wheeled towards him.

“Don’t think I will let your “appropriation” of the gun go-”

“Stop it right there. As I told you, I took the gun for safe-keeping. And, excuse-me, but I trust myself with my soulmate much more than I do all of you. So I think that what you should focus on next is making it up to Barry, not bother me.” Len gave Wells, Cisco and Caitlin a hard look. Cisco looked away, flushing, and Caitlin appeared to be embarrassed but kept his gaze. Wells of course glared at him. “Now, excuse-me, but I have a soulmate to find and comfort.”


End file.
